5 San Diego officers shoot, kill wanted felon

Five officers shot and killed a felon wanted for elder abuse after he raised a homemade shotgun during a standoff, according to San Diego area police.

William Mayes, 37, was driving a car full of explosives when he was gunned down Wednesday by five officers, Escondido police Lt. Neal Griffin told U-T San Diego (
http://bit.ly/18ciowj
).

"We're not in possession of any information that would indicate that he had a specific plan either in his head, on paper or elsewhere to target an individual or a group," San Diego police Capt. Terry McManus told the newspaper. "We know clearly that he was a violent person."

Police were tipped Tuesday that the convicted arsonist knew how to make explosives.

Mayes was already wanted for a May 18 attack on his 65-year-old father, who reported he was extremely fearful of his abusive son.

Rather than surrounding his apartment, police decided to lure him to a Park and Ride to avoid jeopardizing neighbors.

Undercover officers tailed him to the lot, but Mayes noticed he was being tailed and sped off when he got near the lot.

During the ensuing police pursuit, he smashed into a concrete wall.

From inside his vehicle, police say Mayes raised a weapon and five officers opened fire, killing him. It doesn't appear that Mayes returned fire with his shotgun.

Seven pipe bombs and other explosives were found in the car and on Mayes' body, said bomb squad Capt. John Wood. Police also found four homemade firearms that were cobbled together from pieces of metal, pipe and gun parts.

Court records show Mayes had a turbulent upbringing as a chronic runaway from ages 6 to 13, before he got involved in an arson spree in 1996. Along with a couple, they set fires in a revenge scheme.

Mayes pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and was sentenced to two years in prison. In 2005, he was arrested for possession of a firearm in public and sentenced to two years in prison.